Hope Island, Georgian Bay

The first thing we did on Tuesday, August 7 was to take turns with the paddle board.  After breakfast, we took  Zendo from our anchorage off of Discovery  Village to the town dock of Penetanguishene.  The locals shorten it to Penetang which is a lot easier to pronounce!  The name is obviously an Indian name and it means  “land of the white rolling sands”.  The name is quite descriptive of the undeveloped areas we’ve seen here and we were sure that it all must have been quite pristine. 

The town’s history is a reflection of three cultures  -  Native American (Heron), French, and English which gives it a uniqueness and something of which that the residents are quite proud. The waterfront is very impressive and it obviously caters to a boating crowd.  There were probably 120 boat slips at the town marina and there were other large marinas nearby.

The friendly woman at the nearby visitors bureau pointed us to the short walk into town where we saw that extensive infrastructure work was underway including new sewers and sidewalks all along the main drag.  The town looks to be well kept and attractive overall.

We visited the local Catholic church, an impressive edifice towering over the town.

We also saw evidence of the local sporting culture!

Our favorite part of the town was a lovely park that extended from the church to the waterfront.  It was beautifully landscaped and had about a dozen statues, all by the same sculptor, commemorating important figures in the history of Penetang - many of them associated with the church and the town’s multi-cultural roots  The town also had two reconstructed historic villages that we didn’t have time to visit.

From there we traveled on a beautiful, but slightly overcast, day to a group of three islands owned by the Beausoleil, a native American group.  We cruised through them to select our anchorage for the evening.  We were eager to stay nearby because the waters were reported to be Caribbean crystal clear and they really were!   

We found a great anchorage by Hope Island and ventured out in the dinghy to the nearby beach. 

 It  was a perfect combination of sand and rocks and we strolled along the beach for about a mile before returning to Zendo.

That evening we relaxed, ate leftovers and just communed with nature. There was not a building in sight in this tranquil setting. This was a perfect introduction to our highly anticipated trip to Georgian Bay!

Penetanguishene, Ontario

On Monday, August 6, we finally arrived in the much anticipated Georgian Bay!  We left our lovely anchorage in the Lost Channel at 8:45 after each of us enjoyed some paddleboarding.

We had two more locks to go through before we completed all 45 locks on the 125.6 mile long Trent-Severn Waterway.  The Big Chute is truly the most unique one of all.  This lock is a railroad-style lift that actually hoists the boats up on straps and wheels them over a rocky cliff to the other side.

We tied up Zendo before entering the lock and walked over to watch the Big Chute in action.  It was an amazing sight!  It is the biggest lift of its kind in North America.  We were lucky to arrive when we did because the day before it broke down stranding dozens of small and large boats for the night!

Having satisfied our understanding, we took a place on the blue line where we lined up to wait our turn to load onto the lock.  The lockmaster determines who goes and when based on how many boats of varying sizes can be accommodated.  In our case, we had to wait until two other groups went ahead off us.  When it was our turn, they assigned two 28 foot boats in front with two jet skis behind them and our boat alone in the back in the middle.  The lock tenders ride alongside on the lift as well. The lift brought us all up and out of the water and over a rocky ledge then slowly lowered us into the water on the other side.  All this took only eight minutes and was an incredibly cool experience.

We took off for the last lock of our journey, the Port Severn lock.  This was the smallest lock of all of them.  We had to wait almost two hours at the lock wall to go through because it can only accommodate a small number of boats.  So we chatted with fellow lockmates and had lunch.  While waiting, Lynn happily discovered how to retrieve the blog posts that occasionally disappear on her causing her to have to do numerous rewrites.

When it was finally time for us to load, we were packed in like sardines. So much so that our dinghy was touching the back wall of the lock. Also, one of the lock tenders acted as a human fender to prevent our boat from knocking into the one next to us.  Of all the locks we’ve been through, we’ve never been packed in like at this one!

When we exited that lock, we officially entered the Georgian Bay!  We went through the Potato Channel where it was very important to follow the narrow and winding passage through numerous rocky outcroppings  above and below the surface of the water.

As we entered the open bay, we left the small boat channel and headed towards our anchorage for the evening.

Our anchorage for the night was in Penetanguishene Harbor opposite the Discovery Village complete with 18th century schooners.   It was a beautiful setting with only a sailboat joining us in the calm waters there.

Lynn made a delicious chicken curry in her Smart Pot with chick peas, cauliflower and peas.  We had a pleasant dinner on the aft deck.  Anchoring out in these pristine anchorages is truly our favorite thing!

Lost Channel, Ontario

We got a late start on Sunday, August 5 as Lynn was having trouble loading two days of  her blog entries which ended up loading the Orillia entry out of order with the one from Fenelon Falls.  We did get to use the shower facilities at the Starport Marina and while Lynn was fussing with the blog, Jonny invited one of our dockmates aboard to see Zendo.  

We finally took off across Lake Simcoe bound for an anchorage further along the Trent-Severn.  Boat traffic was heavy due to the great weather and the holiday weekend.  We passed a lot of “cottages” which are getting bigger as we go.  Some even have seaplanes parked next to their boats!  Many have garages for their boats.

Georgio is keeping a very low profile hiding under a chair and not doing his usual early morning crying or wandering.  He is either very contrite or in shock from his late night excursion. We hope it scared him enough to stay put!

After crossing the northeast corner of Lake Simcoe we entered a narrow portion of the Trent Canal and cruised past the city of Orillia (the biggest one on the Trent-Severn).

We got stuck behind a swing bridge while waiting for two very long freight trains to pass. 

We cruised through Sparrow Lake where the trees started changing from deciduous to mostly fir trees and the rocky landscape of this northern section became more apparent.

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We started looking for an anchorage before the Big Chute lock and found a lovely spot in Lost Channel (great name)!  It was calm and serene with a few cottages in sight but also a significant piece of undeveloped wooded shoreline.  Once we set the anchor we realized that the house on the point lot was entertaining for the weekend (all the blow-up toys and small watercraft should have been a clue for us)!  They had their music cranked up.  It was loud but not too obnoxious.  We considered moving for about a minute but it was already 6:00 and we didn't want to bother.  

So we settled in and went for a wonderfully refreshing swim and cooked burgers on the grill.  The music ended before too long and we ended up having a blissfully calm night.

Fenelon Falls, Ontario

We were the first in line at the Burleigh Falls lock wall on Friday, August 3.  The locks opened at 9 a.m.  We went through with a houseboat and a few other boats and proceeded on to Lovesick(!) and Buckhorn locks before arriving in Bobcaygeon at about 1:30.  We had hoped to stop at this active and popular town especially known for its shoe store right by the lock.  But, as predicted by everyone we spoke with, the town was very busy with lots of boats and people on the long weekend holiday.  This was definitely the busiest place we’ve seen during our whole time in Canada.  We wanted to stop at the famous shoe store but there were no places on either side of the lock to tie up so we continued on our journey.

We are trying to decide where and how to store the boat for the winter.  Jonny was calling several places from Norfolk to Delaware City to get quotes so we can decide soon.

Our cruise took us past more attractive lakeside homes.  They are getting bigger and more numerous and almost all with colorful Adirondack chairs.

Before too long locks we arrived st the Fenelon Falls lock wall.  Miraculously, we found a spot in a premier location overlooking the falls.  

We tied up behind Ron and Diane who were very friendly.  This area is not as crazy busy as Bobcaygeon but it was in high spirits due to the holiday weekend.  The stores and lock were decorated and in the park next to the lock preparations were underway for a War of 1812 re-enactment.

We walked into town to the local pub to have a beer and decided to stay for dinner.  We strolled around to check out this lovely town and later returned to Zendo. 

As we were getting ready for bed, the boat that had pulled in behind us put on their very noisy generator.  Ron came by for Jonny to show him Active Captain.  Ron was extremely annoyed with the guy with the generator and thein Jonny became annoyed.  The sound of the generator was completely obliterating the natural sound of the nearby falls and the peacefulness of the setting.  Jonny tried to knock on the door of the offending boat but no answer.  It was so loud that Jonny tried to sleep in the V berth to get further away from the noise.